Shoe cleaning



March 3, 1942. P. WRIGHT 2,274,762

SHOE CLEANING Filed Sept. 20, 1939 2 Sheets-She'b l March 3, 1942. pWR|GHT 2,274,762

SHOE CLEANING Filed Sept. 20, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet I?.`

j? Wyk@ -l www Patented Mar. 3, 1942 SHOE CLEANING Parvin Wright,Seattle, Wash., assignor of fiftyone per cent to Ray Wellington Bauer,Seattle,

Wash. l

Application September 20, 1939, Serial No. 295,811

3 Claims.

This invention relates to shoe cleaning and has for its object toprovide an apparatus for cleaning the inside of a shoe, which apparatusis simple in construction and more ecient in operation than thoseheretofore proposed.

- With these and other objects in View the invention resides in thenovel parts and combinations of parts constituting the apparatus as willbe disclosed more fully hereinafter and particularly covered by theclaims.

Referring to the drawings forming a part of this specification and inwhich like numerals designate like parts in all the views- Fig, l is avertical sectional view thorugh one form of apparatus for carrying outthis invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken as on the line 2-2 of Fig. land looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional View illustrating the clutchmechanism between the source of power and the shaft for operating thecleaning element; and

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the cleaning element.

Heretofore it has been proposed to clean and/or brush the exteriorsurface of shoes and other objects but, insofar as is known, no one hasproposed cleaning the inside surfaces of a shoe of dust, dirt,perspiration etc. which are very apt to cause swollen and tired feet ifnot actually to cause infections of the feet, and hence this inventionis directed to the elimination of such dirt, germs, odors etc. therebymaking the shoe more healthy than it would be otherwise. To this end theinvention is directed to an apparatus for cleansing, disinfecting anddeodorizing the shoe at desired intervals to make it clean andwholesome, and comprising mechanism and operating connections thereforfor scrubbing the interior sole and liningof the shoe with adisinfecting solution, after which the shoe is dried and if desiredldusted with perfumed talcum powder or other absorbent medium.

To carry out such cleansing of a shoe there is illustrated in thedrawings one form of apparatus wherein there is provided a stand 2 whichis attached to the central portion of a box 3 having a cover plate 4,said cover plate carrying an electric motor 5 the shaft of which isdisposed vertically and extends downwardly through the cover plate andhas mounted on its lower end a clutch member 6 adapted to engage acompanion clutch member 'l which latter is mounted upon a stub shaft 8the lower end of Cil which has a bearing in the bottomwall of the box 3,extending therethrough and provided with a thrust bearing disposed in arecess provided therefor in the stand 2. This stub shaft has rigidlymounted thereon pulleys 9 and I0 receiving the belts Il and I2respectively, which belts run in horizontal planes and are for drivingthe pulleys I3 and I4 respectively, which latter pulleys are looselymounted on the vertical shafts I5 and I6 respectively and are located inthe extreme ends of the box 3. Obviously the motor shaft may be extendedto make unnecessary said stub shaft and said clutch members, in whichcase the pulleys 9 and I0 may be keyed directly to the motor shaft.

The vertical shaft I5 is disposed in a tubular housing 20 secured vtoand depending from the lower wall of the box 3, said wall beingapertured to permit said shaft to extend therethrough, the upper e-nd 2Iof said shaft being journaled in the cover plate 4, and the shaft isprovided with an enlargement 22 near its lower end, which enlargement isadapted to bear against the inner surface of the lower end of thehousing 20 and thereby stop downward movement of the shaft. Thelowermost end portion 23 of the shaft is made circular to have a bearingin the lower wall of said housing, and is provided with an extremity 24preferably circular in cross-section but of a lesser diameter than thediameter of the portion 23 and disposed eccentrically thereto whereby,upon rotation of the shaft I5, the eccentric 24 will move in a circularorbital path.

The pulley I3, as before stated, is loosely mounted on the shaft l5 andthe lower surface of said pulley is provided with ratchet teeth 25adapted to be engaged by a pin 26 carried by said shaft when the shaftis moved upwardly, there being provided a spacer ring 21 surrounding theratchet teeth and filling the space .between said pulley and the innersurface of the lower wall of the box 3 (see Fig. 3). Thus it will beunderstood that said pulley is retained between said bottom wall and thecover plate 4 so as to have no movement in a vertical direction, but theshaft I5 is capable of vertical movement and when it is moved upwardlyits pin 26 will engage the ratchet portion 25 of the pulley, said pinand said ratchet thereby serving as a clutch for transmitting rotarymotion of the pulley to said shaft.

On the cover plate 4 is secured a switch housing 30 disposed over theinsulated upper end 2I of the shaft I5 so that said shaft end may moveupwardly into said housing. Extending across said shaft end is a springleaf electric contact maker 3l, one endof which is rigidly secured to abinding post 32 carried by said housing, the other or free end of saidcontact maker 3l adapted to be moved upwardly, upon upward movement ofthe shaft l5, to make electric connection with a stationary electriccontact maker 33 secured to another binding post 34. The binding posts32 and 34 are connected by suitable wiring to a source of electriccurrent (represented by cable 35) as well as to the electric motor 5 sothat when the contact makers 3l and 33 are closed, electric current willow through and operate the motor 5 thereby causing rotation of thevertical shaft I5.

There is provided a duplication at the opposite end of the box 3 of thevertical shaft l5 and switch housing 3E) with their associated parts. Inother words there is provided the vertical shaft I6 having the cam 40 atits lower end, and having an insulated upper end 4l adapted, upon upwardmovement of the shaft, to close the contact makers 42 and i3 connectedrespectively to the binding posts 44 and 45 which in turn are connectedby suitable wiring to the source of electric current such as 35 and tothe electric motor 5 so that, when said contact makers are closed,electric current will flow through and operate the motor 5 therebycausing rotation of the vertical shaft S,.this operation beingindependent of the energization of the electric motor by the othervertical shaft l5 although obviously both shafts I5 and l5 could causeoperation of the motor 5 at the same time. Ilihe associated parts ofshaft l5 are practically duplicates of the other shaft l5 and hence adescription thereof is not deemed necessary.

The cleaning element comprises a hub portion 50 provided with an openingfor receiving the f cam or eccentric such as 24 of the vertical shaftI5, said hub carrying a substantially horizontal plate 5l having onopposite sides thereof pads such as 52 preferably of soft rubber orother flexible non-absorbent material and over which is positioned acovering 53 preferably of soft heavy cotton fabric, said covering beingsecured in any suitable manner as by the screws 54, the application ofsaid covering to the cleaning element being such as to permit entry ofthe -eccen- 5 tric 213 into the opening 55 of the hub (see Figs. 1 and4), the shoulder formed between said eccentric and the lower end portion23 of the shaft l5 serving as an abutment for said hub.

In the operation of this apparatus, the cleaning, deodorizing,disinfecting or other desired cleaning uid is applied to the covering 53of the cleaning element in any suitable manner and then the cleaningelement is placed in the shoe to be cleaned as clearly indicated in thedrawings. The operator, with his hand grasping the shoe, then bringsabout entry of the eccentric 24 in the opening 55 of the hub of thecleaning element, after which further upward movement of the shoe (withits contained cleaning element) will cause the shaft I5 to be movedupwardly bringing about engagement of the shaft pin 26 with the ratchetof pulley I3, and in this upward movement of the shaft the upperinsulated end 2l thereof will close the contact makers such as 3| and 33thereby completing the electric circuit through the motor 5 whichthereupon rotates and, through the belt and pulleys, causes rotation ofthe shaft I5. The rotary motion thus imparted 'to the shaft l5 is trans`lated through the eccentric 24 into oscillatory motion of the cleaningelement, and this oscillatory motion causes a scrubbing action on theinside of the shoe. Obviously the cleaning element need not have a slipconnection with or be freely removable from the shaft l5, since theeccentric member may be so formed as to have free rotation within theopening of the hub 50 but conned therein at all times, such for exampleas by providing a cap screw the head of which abuts the lower surface ofsaid hub, or other suitable means may be provided for accomplishing suchswivel connection without separating the cleaning element from saidshaft. It is to be understood that throughout the scrubbing action theshoe will be in the grasp of the operators hand so as to keep the .shaftl5 in its elevated rotating position as well as to prevent the shoeturning with the shaft.

After sufficient scrubbing, the operator moves the shoe with itscontained cleaning element downwardly and this causes disengagement ofthe cleaning elementfrom the Shaft eccentric (unless the aforementionedswivel connection is provided) as well as downward movement of theshaft, the latter resulting in disengagement of the contact makers 3|and 33 with concurrent opening of the electric circuit through the motor5 and stopping the rotating parts. If it so happens that two shoes arevbeing cleaned simultaneously then the motor 5 will continue to operateso long as either shoe is held in such elevated position as to cause theshaft operating its cleaning element to keep the Aassociated contactmakers 3l-33 or 42--43 closed, but when either shoe and its containedcleaning element is downwardly moved and disengaged from its associatedshaft, said lshaft by its own weight Will slide through its drive pulleyand open the contact makers associated with that shaft as well as causedisengagement of its pin with the ratchet of its drive pulley, whereuponany continued operation of the electric motor 5 will merely cause suchdrive `pulley to rotate idly on such shaft.

After the shoe has been scrubbed it is dried in any suitable manner. InFig. 1 there has been illustrated one manner of drying the shoe. In thiscase a standard' electric motor has been shown provided with a'coolingfan B0 located within the motor casing, and a ,pipe 6| isshowncommunicating with a `port in the motor casing and through which thewarm air in such casing may be forced by said fan.' This warm ai'rpossibly may not be of high enough temperature to quickly dry thescrubbed Ashoe and therefore the pipe 6I is shown leading to Aand intoya chamber B2 having therein a heating 'coil 63 which may be ofelectrical t'ype and connected in the circuit with the wires associatedwith one `or both of the pairs of contact makers (as indicated by thewires 64 and 65) there being an outlet from said chamber comprising aflexible hose '56 for conducting the superheated air from such vchamb'erto and into the shoe to be dried. After Adrying the shoe, if desired, aperfumed talcum powder or other absorbent medium may be blown or dustedinto the shoe.

From they foregoing Adisclosure it will thus be seen that by thisinvention there is .provided an apparatus for cleaning the 'inside ofashoe which comprises broadly the stub power shaft 8 which normally isidle, acleaning element, driving connections between said rshaft andsaid element, 'and means for imparting rotation to said shaft,

said means controlled by the bodily movement of said element. Morespecifically the driving connections include the reciprocable shaft Ihaving loosely mounted thereon the pulley I3 provided with ratchetteeth, the reciprocable shaft provided with the pin member 26 adapted toengage said teeth upon reciprocation of said shaft; and the means forimparting rotation to the power shaft includes an electric motorcontrolled by a switch (Contact makers 3| and 33) actuated by axialmovement or reciprocation of the reciprocable shaft I5.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details ofconstruction and arrangements of parts constituting this apparatuswithout departing from the spirit of this invention and therefore it isdesired not to be limited to the exact foregoing disclosure except asmay be demanded by the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for cleansing the inside of a shoe comprising a cleaningelement, a shaft for actuating said element, and means for rotating saidshaft; said element being movable into and out of engagement with saidshaft, said element having a relatively flat bottom cleaning surface andbeing of a shape generally fitting the shoe whereby to prevent completerotation of the element in the shoe, said element being provided with arecess in the upper portion thereof; said shaft being substantiallyvertically disposed and slidable in the direction of its axis, thelowermost end of said shaft having an eccentric engageable with therecess of said element for imparting oscillatory motion to said elementwihen engaged with and upon rotation of said shaft, the engagementbetween said eccentric and said recess comprising a loose fitnecessitating an upward pressure to be exerted upon said element tomaintain such engagement; said means for rotating said shaft comprisingan energizable clutch and an interrupter for controlling theenergization of said clutch, said clutch and said interrupter eachmounted coaxially of said shaft, said clutch having two members, oneclutch member carried by said shaft and operatively movable into and outof engagement with the other clutch member upon sliding movement of saidshaft, said interrupter actuated by the uppermost end of said shaft uponsliding movement of the latter to energize and de-energize the saidother clutch member.

2. An apparatus for cleaning the inside of a shoe comprising a cleaningelement, a shaft for actuating said element, and means for rotating saidshaft; said element being movable into and out of engagement with saidshaft, said element having a relatively flat bottom cleaning surface andbeing of a sh'ape generally fitting the shoe whereby to prevent completerotation of the Ielement in the shoe, said element being provided With arecess in the upper portion thereof; said shaft being substantiallyvertically disposed and slidable in the direction of its axis, thelowermost end of said shaft having an eccentric engageabl'e with therecess of said element for imparting oscillatory motion to said elementwhen engaged with and upon rotation of said sh'aft, the engagementbetween said eccentric and said recess comprising a loose tnecessitating an upward pressure to be exerted upon said element tomaintain such engagement; said means for rotating said shaft comprisingan energizable clutch and an interrupter for controlling theenergization of said clutch, said clutch and said interrupter eachmounted lcoaxially of said shaft, said clutch having two companion andcooperative members, one clutch member surrounding said shaft and fixedagainst axial movement thereof, the other clutch member carried by saidshaft and operatively movable into and out of engagement with itscompanion clutch member upon sliding movement of said shaft, saidinterrupter actuated by the uppermost end of said shaft upon slidingmovement of the latter to energize and de-energize the first mentionedclutch member.

3. An apparatus for cleaning shoe comprising a rcleaning element, ashaft for actuating said element, and means for rotating said shaft;said element having a relatively flat bottom cleaning surface and beingof a shape generally fitting the shoe whereby to prevent completerotation of the element in the shoe, said element being provided with arecess in the upper portion thereof; said shaft being substan- `tiallyvertically disposed and slidable in the di- Vrection of its axis, thelowermost end of VSaid shaft having an eccentric rotatable within therecess of said element for imparting oscillatory motion to said elementupon rotation of said sh'aft; said means for rotating said shaftcomprising an energizable clutch and an interrupter for controlling theenergization of said clutch,

said clutch and said interrupter each mounted coaxially of said shaft,said clutch having'two members, one clutch member carried by said shaftand operatively movable into and out of engagement with the o-therclutch member upon sliding movement of said shaft, said interrupteractuated by the uppermost end of said sh'aft upon sliding movement ofthe latter to energize and de-energize the said other clutch member.

PARVIN WRIGHT.

the inside of a

